Min Letwe was the elder child of King Kyawswa I of Pinya and Queen Mway Medaw of Pinya. His father hailed from both Myinsaing and Pagan royal lines while his mother was of the Pagan royal line. He had one younger full sister,[note 1] and at least six half-siblings.[1][2][3]
According to the royal chronicles, Min Letwe's first fief was Sikyay before being appointed governor of Pinle, one of the three ancestral capitals of the Myinsaing–Pinya dynasty. He succeeded his uncle, Nawrahta, who fled to the rival Sagaing Kingdom during King Nawrahta Minye's short reign in 1349.[note 2]
He apparently survived the fall of Pinya in 1364, and the subsequent founding of the kingdom of Ava a year later. In late 1385, Letwe went to the front in what turned out to the first campaign of the Ava–Hanthawaddy War (1385–1391). But he died in battle while leading his regiment en route to Hmawbi.[4][5][6] His Pinle post was succeeded by Thray Thinkhaya.[7]
Ancestry
The following ancestry information is per the Hmannan Yazawin chronicle, which corrects Queen Mway Medaw's ancestry reported in the earlier Maha Yazawin.[3]
^Chronicles report slightly different information about his full sister(s). (Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 266) says Letwe had two full siblings: an unnamed middle sister, who was married to Gov. Min Maha of Nyaungyan, and Saw Min Hla who died before reaching the age of marriage. (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 168) says he had just one full younger sister named Saw Min Lat, who was married to Gov. Min Maha of Nyaungyan. (Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 380) follows Yazawin Thit but corrects the sister's name to Saw Min Hla.
^Per inscriptional evidence (Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 175, footnotes 5 and 6), Nawrahta Minye reigned for seven months and was alive on 8 November 1349 (Sunday, 13th waning of Tazaungmon 711 ME).
